Why I (Used to) Hate Video Essays

/ shaq
Here are the videos mentioned:
• The Adorkable Misogyny...
• TomSka's Guide To Plag...
• Joining the Outer Wild...
• Why KZbinrs Hold Mic...
• Holy Trinities - Tambo...
• What's the deal with j...
• THIS Pot Roast is Bett...
• KZbin Intros After T...
• Junji Ito's Freaky Man...
0:00-4:10 - Why I Hate 'Em (A Summary)
4:10-6:41 - Video Essayists Are Bad at Writing Conclusions
6:41-9:32 - It's Like Sitting Through A Bad Powerpoint Presentation
9:32-10:20 - Two Beautiful Examples
10:20-12:56 - Audiences Trust Essayists Too Much
12:56-17:10 - Is This a Vibes-Based Problem?
17:10-19:17 - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Slop
19:17-23:16 - Do You Want to Be Distracted Right Now?

[@krombopulos_michael]

1.5x speed is only for the really good essays that you have to slow down and enjoy

[@beclops]

This either makes no sense or a joke is going completely over my head

[@anthonybrigante9087]

@@beclops - 2x for everything else.

[@scooter9537]

Get the chrome extension and go 3x speed vrooooooooom

[@rdablock]

hate having to slow down the vid on essays about music

[@huss1836]

His english grammar sucks. ​@@beclops

[@Nononchalance]

Having both standards and empathy? In this economy? Beautiful. Excellent vid as always

[@simonmonto]

He MUST have alterior motives 😂

[@Nononchalance]

@@simonmonto Big Video Essay got him too 😭

[@marvin2678]

what

[@venom66656]

Hey, quick question, what part of the video felt empathetic to you? Was it when he donned a 'caveman' voice and said things like Long Good! As a way to address his oppositional viewpoint?

[@Nononchalance]

@@venom66656 haha sure why not

[@caleb4thand10]

Holy shit that little reflection about the "30-year old equivalent" of watching the raindrops collect on the car window has shaken me to the core

[@CrimsonBlade104]

Dude same. It made me nervously giggle when all I was trying to do was make 4:30 to 5:00 go quicker (jk)

[@sfllaw]

May I introduce you to the exciting world of @JellesMarbleRuns?

[@GypsumGeneration]

It's smoking your second to last cigarette on the porch, watching your kids run in the yard, while the sun sets and the first chill of the evening runs through. Time to go inside.

[@tahbibosman1167]

Thank you for this recommendation. This had brought me great joy.

[@MegamiShin]

I watch the rain drops fall still. It’s so beautiful and peaceful.

[@lordburgendy6108]

This reminds me of what Michael from Vsauce said one time. Why do you think we have wheels in mice cages? Because the mice are bored and need something to do, right? Well, what do you think would happen if we put wheels out in the forest? Do you think mice would find them and start running on them? Well, wild mice ALSO run on them. They have the WHOLE WORLD to run around in, and yet they can't get enough of those wheels. Maybe it's human nature for us to watch long video essays. Maybe it's not a problem with society. Maybe we just like running on wheels.

[@8xottox8]

Have you been to a playground recently? A creep question for sure, but I went recently with my nieces, and they had these things that didn't exist when I was kid, where they can get inside a wheel you spin around. People 100% just want to run in wheels, literally.

[@undeniablySomeGuy]

side note, Vsauce is a great "video essayist" who consistently feel like the make high quality long form videos that earn your half hour

[@vamppanic]

@@undeniablySomeGuyand has been consistent in quality from beginning to now

[@sleepdeep305]

@@8xottox8Nothing makes you feel older than looking at a playground with a bunch of new equipment that you never could’ve conceived back then. Extra points if it’s a playground you frequented

[@kkilljoy3588]

Wild mice will actually WAIT IN LINE to run on wheels placed in fields. You can actually observe that they have a loose queueing system in place for these wheels too! It’s remarkable how badly they want to run on these wheels.

[@T1J]

i make video essays for a living and I think about this kind of stuff a lot. even tho i make them I dont watch a lot lot of them for many of the reasons you laid out. i absolutely hate all the fluff and extra information that people throw in video essays that has nothing to do with the main thesis and i try to avoid that personally, maybe to my detriment. These days, I cut out so much stuff from every video i make because it seems superfluous. but of course there's an audience for that kind of thing. I've also switched away from making video about important political or philosophical topics mostly because the internet is a terrible avenue for those conversations but also because I became super uncomfortable being seen as a thought-leader/authority on anything that actually matters.

[@Hyenalowena]

hey, fancy seeing you here! I love your videos, dude, keep up the good work

[@crunkcore]

It honestly feels like a radical act these days to choose to not participate in constant self-distraction. I feel like after years of being relentlessly bottle-fed entertainment I don’t know what it’s like to mentally stand up on my own. It’s terrifying to imagine how different my life might be if I weren’t consumed by a crippling content addiction. I imagine a lot of people feel the same…

[@simonmonto]

Having regular thoughts is weird huh 😂 I believe you can do it! Get your thinking cap on, I personally had to break up with my headphones to get away from content. Having spoken word in my ears constantly was inflaming my brain

[@mandroid5678]

If I wasn't constantly consuming media, I would think too much about all the wrong decisions I've made in my life. I can't deal with that right now (ever).

[@marvin2678]

yepp addicted is the right word

[@mattymattffs]

Just stop? It's pretty easy tbh

[@rainbow8193]

Is there a world without content consumption ? Ever since I was a kid (In the 90s) Television was almost always on, except sleeping time and the mornings where we needed to get out of the house

[@ratfromsewer6683]

this is something i think about a lot. i'm a person with a LOT of free time and most of it is spent doing exactly this, distracting myself with video essays on one screen, a video game on the other-- i'm literally distracting myself from my distractions which are distracting me from getting the things i need to get done, done. i'm a single person with no kids so the only thing i'm really missing out on is doing the things i need to do to take care of myself (i need to do some dishes right now and i'm yet again postponing it in favour of typing out a youtube comment), but when i go for the rare walk i manage to convince myself to take, i get an inkling of the things i miss out on distracting myself from the 20-to-30-something adult boredom you mention in the video; for example, i heard some crackling from the plants i was walking past yesterday and it got me to stop and consider that i've never heard a pinecone before. i guess they pop and crack as they open for the changing of the seasons. in my 25 years of life, i'd never noticed it before, and i wouldn't have noticed it had my airpods not broken not too long ago, as i typically listen to music on my walks. maybe that's an inconsequential thing to notice in the long run, but i remember it more vividly than any particular moment i had in the last 3 days grinding and questing in duskwood with a video essay or livestream on in the background save for one particularly negative interaction i had with another person in the game. between that and this, it's gotten me thinking about how many of my waking moments are lost to the miasma of distraction which i will likely never be able to retrieve. anyways, this has gotten long winded enough, i need to do my dishes, a memory which will probably also never fully form and be lost to the miasma, but thank you for making this video. while i will probably never stop consuming purpose-built "distraction content" entirely, in just 23 minutes, it's worked better to highlight the value of my time and active participation in the world around me than any mindfulness and meditation seminar ever has. have a good one dude!

[@grunchidetrap476]

Mindfulness and meditation seminars are definitely no replacement for actual mindfulness and meditation 🙂

[@JakubWaniek]

Why do you believe you will never stop consuming "distraction content"? What would happen if you stopped?

[@NathanBrownisawesome]

@@JakubWaniek addiction is a helluva drug

[@NotFine]

​@@JakubWaniekNot everyone is a robot who never gets distracted lol

[@8xottox8]

The real lesson here is to listen to podcasts and other nonsense with your phone speakers when outside. That way you can still hear the pops and cracks of nature. 👍👍

[@chan4est]

I absolutely HATE the Channel 5 comment section because it’s so incredibly difficult to find people actually reacting to the content in a meaningful way. Love that you touched upon that here.

[@2000damp]

Its thousands of people who have never read a full article going "This is REAL news!!" to one another. lol

[@theelectricant98]

Comes directly from andrews own overinflated ego, he forces that narrative ​@@2000damp

[@girlonshore]

Fully agree -seeing a top comment complimenting Andrew for being "unbiased" on one of his recent videos was a wild moment. The dude has become an actual pundit in the recent videos.

[@Xarlable]

@@girlonshore probably a reaction to the change in his audience ever since the sexual abuse allegations about him came out and made him take a break from making videos before coming back like nothing happened lmao

[@PurajitMalalur]

When I used to still support him, that Discord server was the worst place on earth. Can't describe how irony and nihilism-poisoned it was. I couldn't find a single genuine comment about anything, even on the more serious channels. It's in a constant state of everyone annoying everyone else, and that's the joke. It's the only joke.

[@ryanmraz316]

This was great to watch at 1.5x speed on my cell phone during my lunch break.

[@elseifgames129]

Been mulling this video over for a few days, and I think there's another stylistic trend that this video doesn't cover, but feels part of the conversation. Not a universal trend, but something I see often in analytical type video essays, in the vein of Hbomberguy. Topical Synechdohe. Or for something catchier, "the prestige." Start the video about subject X, lay all the groundwork for doing a deep dive into subject X, only to partway through go "Psych! We aren't talking about subject X, we're talking about subject Y! Subject X is just an example/subset of Y or vice versa!" Take the "Why KZbinrs Hold Microphones Now" video. going through the entirety of the video, it's clear that microphones are not its actual focus. Its focus is on identity as a youtuber/online performer, and how that intersects with the performance of class. Holding microphones was the entry point into the "real" topic. That's why the conclusion felt "weak," because its answering a different question than the one posed by the intro. This is a technique that not only allows for a certain inefficiency of information, but practically demands it. Without some degree of red herring and misdirection, the turn isn't a turn at all. Hbomb's plagarism video was a particularly ruthless example of this. This was not the first time Sommerton's behavior was noted, but every time people tried to deal with it in private, or at a small scale, it ended with either silence, weasel words, or at worst, Sommerton siccing his then sizable fanbase on the person. Hbomb spending 2 hours before getting into the "real topic", and tackling much larger examples first, was a counter to this. Not only did he have time to surgically remove every exit Sommerton could take, but the delay meant that Sommerton couldn't make any defensive moves before the information went critical mass. He couldn't warn his fans against watching it, because by the time it was widely known it was about him, his fans were already halfway through. Whether or not things have gone "too far" in the aftermath, in the exact moment of creation, he was not wrong for doing this. Now, as for whether this technique is worth it in general, is a more complex topic. On the most cynical read possible, this is an advanced form of clickbaiting. You know a video about Y wouldn't do well, so you dress it up as X instead. But when it's done well, there's an undeniable artistry to it. It's completely different ballparks, but Infinite Jest wouldn't be Infinite Jest if it committed solely to being about Tennis. There's also a lot of people who understandably can't stand Infinite Jest. It's like that old Carl Sagan quote, "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, first you must invent the universe." If he actually went through that process step by step, the people who are here for the cosmological interconnectedness of all things would be enthralled...and the people who came to learn about apple pie would be pissed off.

[@liambishop9888]

I've noticed something similar and have thought of it as a bait and switch technique, where a video about a seemingly trivial or light hearted piece of pop culture becomes a way of talking about a more serious, usually political, issue. Topical Synecdoche is probably a better term, because "bait and switch" suggests that the "bait" topic is removed and replaced by a totally distinct topic, whereas in fact it is often just revealed to be a way into a larger topic, so "synecdoche" is more fitting. I like your analysis of what the consequences of the technique can be in terms of being inefficient with information and weak conclusions.

[@wmurd]

Isn’t that all just plain old breadtubist “and that’s why spongebob is a communist manifesto” thing lol

[@cupostuff9929]

topical synechdoche a really good way to put it. When He brought up the point about the microphone video taking an hour to get to answering its question about microphones I felt like he didn't consider the fact that the video wasn't about microphones at all

[@eggy3231]

I am someone who is 100% addicted to Con Tent (which I can onnly attribute to having both ADHD and a very long daily commute) but I am also extremely picky about what I watch. To me, listening to subpar content is almost as bad as listening to nothing at all. It's not just about being distracted, it''s about being adequately distracted, which I find some Content(TM) can't always even do. Personally, I think part of the reason that a lot of video essays as of late feel so thin and sludgy to me is due to a lack of expertise. A lot of the channels I initially fell in love with (and still love to this day) are run by people who have actual, real world experience with the things they're discussing, either through education or through other lived experiences (working in the field, etc). Even those who didn't would often have some other highly developed skill that would make their videos worth sitting through, like music or editing. I feel like a lot of newer essay channels are lacking in this category, either because the people running them are young and lack life experience in general, or because they're trying to churn out content at a more algorithm-friendly speed. On top of that, I feel like another thing that has contributed to the sludginess is how Online a lot of video essayists seem to be. If someone's content seems to be largely centered around twitter discourse without connecting it to any other greater disscussion, then what you have is pretty much just a glorified drama channel. As such, I've been finding myself more and more drawn to creators who seem to actually touch grass, and actively turned off by people who seem so terminally online that they don't know how to discuss anything else.

[@elia479]

This resonates with me, especially as I've gone from straight video essays to channels with videos about really specific topics like gardening, cooking, crafts, etc. Of course that means you can't just throw them on and listen, but in my case right now that's okay. I'll still listen to Herbs with Rosalee or Michael Sugrue or something like that when I'm doing a mundane task, but I find my mind drifting during that time, and so I am slowly listening to less and less of that stuff and just letting my mind wander on its own.

[@RoxasLov3r4Ev3r]

Your last paragraph is so well-written and articulates so precisely the problem I have with long-form video essays nowadays LOOOOLLLLLL Like yes, the shallowness of all the video essays available is so...frustrating. It does feel like I'm watching some mean girls hash it out over and over again over the same small-scale, petty drama happening online (that usually doesn't even affect anyone who ISN'T chronically online) and I'm like...okay, yes, and...???? It feels like such a petty and small-minded focus on a microcosm instead of looking at the bigger real-world picture lol. Like I'm watching a lunch table of mean girls tearing each other down over whose skirt is ugly and out of trend when at the next table over, some other girls don't even have enough to eat and then on an even larger scale the world is going to shit around them lol

[@sweetestpotato4392]

Chapters feature has encouraged structured video essays, which is preferable when you only care about the info of the topic rather than the exposition.

[@strayorion2031]

Also to alloww viewers to finish one chapter, leave, then check the next one

[@bingus1651]

For me a lot of the issue comes from the breadth of videos getting called essays. There are ones that are shallowly researched and rambling, but there are still multi-hour ones that I feel the need to sit down and pay attention both because the arguments and information require that level attention and because of the jokes and nuance provided by visuals. Those get lumped in with "essays" consisting of someone talking about why they like or don't like a particular piece of media for an hour.

[@scpWyatt]

Brevity is the soul of wit and I feel like you hit the nail on the head with meandering videos with lackluster endings and this invention of the content slop mill. The author Lynda Barry has a quote about this that I absolutely love, “The phone gives us a lot but it takes away three key elements of discovery: loneliness, uncertainty and boredom. Those have always been where creative ideas come from.”

[@sobalover]

Watching long form content is my preferred choice of escapism.

[@oshwaflz]

Theres so much being said with so few words

[@Draw3524]

Same, I typically listen to them while working instead of watching. So essentially it's a podcast for me haha

[@anthonybeard3238]

I appreciate you pointing out the lack of a coherent conclusion in most video essays. I find myself wanting to be distracted with long video essays, but I also want to have some key takeaway from the video. But I also find that I can’t think of one for most videos I listen to. I almost always chalk that up to my ADHD, but now I’m not so sure. Maybe there just wasn’t one there to begin with…

[@cerberusthethird]

19:17 I had a moment the other day while browsing netflix and hovered over the food network show Chopped, and I turned to my partner and said, "you know, I would love this show when it just came on in the background on the living room TV while I was doing other stuff, but I'd never intentionally put it on now." Something about the transition from "whatever's on TV right now" to a web app where you can select whatever you want made it so I couldn't enjoy TV programming as anything less than deserving of my full attention. I'm realizing now that youtube, twitch streams, etc has kinda just become my Background TV, but the intimacy of a voice directly in your ears and the content being much more tailored to your specific interests means it ends up capturing way more of my attention (and occupying way more of my time) than old-era game-show Slop Content ever did. I admit you kinda got me on this one. I know your ending thesis is much more accepting of the concept of simply "wanting to be distracted" but honestly it's a nice smack in the face that I should be a bit more discerning with my attention span.

[@magentialice]

tbf tomska's video was more of a ramble-y talk of his experiences with plagiarism than a video essay (i don't remember if he marketed it/claimed it to be a video essay, so using him as an example might still be valid) which honestly to me, makes me think the reason why there's a lot of bad video essays instead of a lot of somewhat decent podcasts is because everyone needs to "make a point" with their videos now and try to be important or whatever. Maybe that's just more marketable now? I remember i wanted to make a rant video about how I didn't like something and people told me not to because it would "distract from serious matters" also yes people watch it cause yummy yummy more content pluss I need background noise while I draw art for 50 hours

[@saoirsestack9450]

I love a good youtube essay. Some of Jacob Geller's essays have really stuck with me. I think because he really is a master of the craft

[@jerrodshack7610]

His are incredible, not remotely comparable to a lot of this content mill stuff

[@Sonic_The_Hedgedog_Reddit]

*Jacob Geller is amazing. His videos are extremely high quality.*

[@laurinmuller132]

Trully no one does it better than him. I come back to "Who's afraid of modern art" atleast every two months, and it's amazing every time. (Actually gonna do that right now)

[@bionodroid547]

you said everything i think about when i ponder what i've lost by distracting myself with video essays in the background. i notice that when i play video games or clean my room or paint or do other chores, and i'm not watching an essay, i tend to easily find a good stopping point where i feel satisfied and like my time was spent wisely. but when a video essay or a podcast is on, i just keep going, and i find that i wasn't really thinking or letting things soak in while i was doing whatever activity i just was. i've been thinking about always taking notes or reflecting on content i watch afterwards to force myself to watch less and think about it more, but your point about content being made just for content these days makes me wonder if i even want to wake up an look at a screen anytime i don't have to do so for work. but what else would i do? everything i ever wanted to? probably

[@kady512]

Good video! Your conclusion is correct in the sense that a lot of people watch this type of content as background distraction, but as a counterpoint I'd like to say that some of my favorite videos on youtube are long essays that I watched like movies, 1x speed, full attention. So my perspective on this is that most video essays are just bad and not well written, and not something inherit to the format or length.

[@Kyrbi0]

Good point! (*Inherent)

[@CHRB-nn6qp]

Same, I can't imagine watching something at a faster speed. Like do you even care about it at that point?

[@Cocoanutty0]

I completely agree.

[@PeachCrusher69]

@@CHRB-nn6qp many a times, when watching a video about a math problem or something, I watch a big chunk of the video on 2x, or skip whole sections. because the videos are made for a wide audience (who don't necessarily understand the field of math the problem posed belongs to), the essayist has to explain a lot of stuff slowly & with examples. I still care for the problem (more so its solution), but I do skip & fast-forward.

[@rizahawkeyepierce1380]

@CHRB-nn6qp I speed up content when I'm trying to learn something for my job - having to struggle a bit to keep up helps my brain stay focused on the info instead of just slipping into daydreams (which results in needing to run back the video multiple times). For videos I'm watching for entertainment, I usually just don't watch it if it's not enjoyable at normal speed.

[@SnackMuay]

Very thoughtful. I will say though; the example you showed of pop culture detective felt extremely relevant to the subject of the video essay. Even if the title specifies that he’s talking about the Big Bang theory, what the video is really about is a cultural phenomenon that is abundant in, but not limited to, that show. When appropriately deployed, I really appreciate those segments where the narrator lays a foundation of historical precedent and applies their own lens to it.

[@lewisgrundy9487]

agreed

[@li.theo.4]

I absolutely second this! I found a great deal of this video to be very insightful, including the point that many “video essays” are unnecessarily meandering and directionless, full of filler and tangents that could have been cut. The Pop Culture Detective example felt so jarring because of how relevant I find the introduction to that video. Like you said, the topic of that video is not _just_ The Big Bang Theory; it’s an examination of how media depicts misogyny, in particular from “nerdy” men and others who don’t fit the “alpha male” image, as a harmless non-issue, even when portraying invasive or outright violent behavior. I think part of the issue may be the wide breadth of videos under the “video essay” umbrella; I’ve seen plenty of “The ____ of [Insert Media Here]” videos centered completely on that show or movie, without any discussion of how it fits into any broader context. Pop Culture Detective goes further than that, though, and it actually took me out of the video for a bit! I understand the choice to use examples, but I think the examples themselves varied in relevance and necessity.

[@aldenkahl8703]

The dig at Folding Ideas fortnight video is interesting because in the effort to ask if something contributes to the discussion it actually misses why the discussion about how fortnight works is there. The discussion about the understanding of Fortnight isnt there to substaintiate points but rather to preempt bad faith criticism about over thinking the game, not understandinf the game, or not reallt knowing what its about.

[@cg1906]

I can believe you made me care about the socioeconomic allegory present in season one of diners drive ins and dives where you drew parallels between Guy Fierri and Chei Guevara, but here I am tearing up. God speed sir

[@frankthegoblin5889]

You have always been one of my "active" watcher KZbin channels. When I watch your content it is not because I need a distraction, but because I know when I watch your videos there will be some genuine value. There are really only two other KZbinrs I watch who give me that same feeling and I have been trying to actively cut down on the time I spend on KZbin. I think the way you crafted this video helped me realize why that is, I have my active watching KZbin channels, and then I have distractions. I don't really want to give up either side, but I do want my time on KZbin as a whole to go down. It's about limiting my distraction time while still allowing myself to actively engage with the platform. This was great to watch at 1.5x speed on my cellphone during my lunch break.

[@ststst981]

In all fairness to PopCultureDetective (bing bang theory video creator), they take about a year to make one video because they are putting in an insane amount of research and thought into the video

[@juliat.9719]

Yeah, exactly. Also have to keep in mind that the video was published in 2017, and while there's never exactly a shortage of misogynists on the internet, 2014-2018 KZbin was a very different beast. A lot of the time, you really did need 30+ minutes to lay the groundwork that sexism/racism/homophobia is real and bad before you moved on to your main point. Going back and watching essays from that period is actually kind of wild, because you can see how much time the creators had to spend carefully dismantling boilerplate bigoted arguments.

[@ststst981]

@@juliat.9719 yea and that specific video was about the big bang theory but was making a larger point about nerdy "inoffensive" misogyny in media in general

[@mandobrownie]

@@juliat.9719 I almost have a feeling that Shaq intentionally chose examples of tropes he dislikes from videos and creators he actually overall respects

[@Varooooooom]

Not to mention, that video is shorter than Shaq’s lol

[@SethTheOrigin]

It’s still a garbage video

[@amritakishore7722]

There is also something to be said about jumping from one thing to the next so much, or processing so many things at once that we lose our ability to hone in on, process, and retain that information properly. That may tie into why we take the opinions of video essayists as the truth, we are not consuming video essays in a way where we can actually question the opinions we're hearing, as long as they aren't so blatantly incorrect that we start to have second thoughts.

[@MajorLeagueBassboost]

I love how you're able to pretty accurately put into words what my feelings are on some of these internet-y topics, sometimes even before I get to the stage of actually thinking about them, when I'm still only getting weird vibes and feelings. But I guess that's the reason why I subscribed to your channel(s) years ago, because you tended to do that in your cooking videos. You know, articulate things that I felt were right but not broadly accepted or talked about. You're like always a few steps ahead of me. I really aspire to be so clear in my observations, thoughts and analysis. So cheers to that!

[@callanrose]

i’ve noticed a pattern the past few years especially where i click on certain videos thinking it’s gonna explain/teach/explore something & feels like it’s starting to,, like it’s presenting information.. but then it just keeps presenting information & then it just ends. so many ppl gave up on writing conclusions or inviting thought.. or if they do they’re like how u described. the first few times i came across videos like this is drove me insane seeing how many ppl were actively engaging with it even though it felt so unsatisfying/irritating for me personally.. after a while i find myself kinda liking that this stuff exists in a weird way, tho i myself still won’t watch it if i can avoid it, cuz it feels like the bar for content is so low that if i were to put only a fraction of my own standards into something myself it would probably still have a chance of finding an audience. it’s motivating in a way that makes me feel kinda guilty? can’t think of a better word to describe the feeling.. in the same way that sometimes watching things that are really good can be intimidating instead of motivating if ur in the wrong headspace, but the opposite. i think a lot of artists feel these kinds of things sometimes.. like having extremely high standards for urself then suddenly being humbled or perplexed by someone doing something with half the heart or effort & succeeding regardless. a reminder to not take urself too seriously every once in a while. anything is possible type sh.t.. idk. anyway.. i’m starting to write my own essay at this point lol i’m rambling. but thanks for this!

[@pigeonqueeen]

I'm a big Hbomberguy / Shaun person, and have rewatched (relistened) to their stuff 10s of times, with genuine interest and then as a relaxing ambient sound, that I still find interesting when I focus back in on it. I find they both genuinely have reasons for the length,.and make me interested in topics I wouldn't even worry about (like hbomberguys video games essays - for.example never played Deus ex, but watched his video about 8 times.) and I always watch these at normal speed cause I enjoy them so much. Anyway you do you, I think there's a difference between what you're describing and what I watch but I might be wrong, and of course you're allowed your own view !

[@pigeonqueeen]

Hbomber criticism came in after I pressed comment

[@ukuleila691]

@@pigeonqueeenLOL

[@mandobrownie]

@@pigeonqueeen funnily enough, the hbomber portion of this video is perhaps the weakest part! Harris makes inordinately long videos to meet a lot (but likely not all) of the standards Shaq has for good video essays (i.e. trying to come at it from many sides instead of just presenting your own angle). That audiences don't fully get it is not a Harris or his content problem, that's a platform and media consumption norms problem.

[@viddotts44]

​@@mandobrownie agree with this wholeheartedly. I think he actually makes a lot of good points this video but I guess in trying to make a short video he somehow manages to fall to some of the same criticisms he makes. I've rewatched the Hbomb video on Deus Ex and Fallout New Vegas both at least three times. They are just very entertaining works.

[@Jimmyfinder]

Some of hbomb's newer stuff feels like it is long for the sake of being long. A 4 hour video on KZbin plagiarism drama is gratuitous.

[@lukenicholson2885]

Content for the sake of content became evident for me after March of 2020. I needed distractions from the world, something to fill the lonely void. As a consumer mostly of sports media, there was little good going on at that time, or what was happening directly tied into the ongoing crises surrounding us, which defeated why I was consuming the media. I went from cramming in several sports podcasts through my pre-pandemic day to wishing Bomani Jones could talk about The Last Dance documentary for 10 more minutes. Because that was 10 more minutes I didn’t have to think about the world. Related to the above sentiment is (ironically) a great KZbin video essay from Jon Bois called Fighting in the Age of Lonliness. Sometimes people need their media to help them make sense of the word they live in, other times they need a distraction from it all. Luckily, we have your channel for both. Great video as always.

[@Nossimid]

Honestly, I'm someone who really enjoys video essays, and I see where you're coming from. Honestly, I think I need to re-evaluate my relationship with them and "infotainment" (on KZbin at least) in general.

[@CBFresh]

You're spitting Shaq. I think the big shift I see in youtube writing is that people don't bring up evidence to support a claim, they bring up all the evidence that could possibly ever be brought up and THEN if you're lucky, they might make some points about some of it.

[@miscellaneousfarrugia]

I always thought the main reason people hold the lapel mics nowadays is that it’s funny. The old “doing something wrong on purpose” shtick

[@reillyd.4753]

It gives you something to do with your hands too

[@tomfondly5266]

I remember when I was working a 9-5 job I would constantly be listening to podcasts in the background, so much so I would tell ppl I get paid to stare at spreadsheets all day while listening to podcasts. My coworkers used to ask me for recommendations for podcasts to listen to. Now the only time I listen to podcast are on 4+ hr long road trips and even then I prefer to kick old school and bring a couple of CDs of albums I really love instead. Sometimes I think a lot of online content is just lazy from KZbin videos (not yours of course) to doom scrolling on Reddit. I rather use that time to consume something that took a lot more effort to make like a good movie or tv show or a well written book.

[@mattymattffs]

I used to listen to podcasts. Then I realized audio books are just so much more entertaining. Not as good as reading them, but some books don't need that attention

[@marcelosillero]

@@mattymattffs can you recommend some? I’ve always wanted to try listening to audiobooks

[@mattymattffs]

@@marcelosillero well that's hard, depends on the genres you like. The Sandman books are an easy listen. So is wheel of Time. I mostly use it for fiction of some kind. I've also used it to listen to books I've previously read. I tried it with dune but found that too heavy and went back to reading. The hour or so I walk my dog I listen. I like 1.5x, but it's all what you like

[@JSPHKH]

i felt like this was a little harsh on that microphone video (wasn’t that one more about the interplay between “indie” and “corporate” content creators in general? not so much “5 reasons why it’s more practical to hold your microphone”) but credit where credit is due, you stuck the landing with your conclusion

[@eggy3231]

Yeah, I agree. I feel like the point of that video was competely missed here. I also think the conclusion of "they're trying to hide how much money they have" was pretty clearly meant to be a joking way of summarizing the message of the rest of the video, not to actually be a sincere statement.

[@loudnoises8197]

nah toms video is way too much yapping for a rather lackluster conclusion

[@L83467]

yeah, i thought tom nicholas was using people holding microphones as a jumping off point to talk about the culture of youtube and how it has changed and stuff

[@jerrodshack7610]

@@L83467 These are the best kinds of video essays imo. Hook you with a topic and then veer off into a greater, related point that is still insightful and interesting

[@danielleanderson6371]

I think it's important to be mindful of what we distract ourselves with and why. Catching up on an educational podcast about your favorite hobby to make doing dishes less tedious is a lot different from doomscrolling to pass the time while watching a video essay about something you didn't care about until you saw it in your KZbin feed. In the former instance, you're supplementing a household chore with knowledge you'll likely apply to something you really enjoy doing, while in the latter instance you're wasting time that could've been spent on a fun hobby while actively making yourself more miserable. I really do think it's up to the individual to decide for themselves what distractions are worth it, but a decision does need to be made. The next time you find yourself watching a video essay, stop and ask yourself if doing so is making your life better or if it's making your life worse, and really take a moment to assess whether or not the content aligns with your values as a person. You can't watch everything, but that doesn't mean you can't watch anything. Make a choice. Don't let influencers or the algorithm or some megacorporation make that choice for you by preying on your desire for instant gratification.

[@DavidSap]

Thank you for this video. Nothing was more surreal than being accidentally called out by you as I listened while literally in the shower, listening to it on 1.75x speed. I walked into the bathroom, subconsciously didn't want to be alone with my thoughts, and insta-pressed the first long runtime video in my sub box that came up. Since 2020 I realized I'm constantly distracting myself away from my own thoughts, and as a fellow 90s kid, have also reflected on how I might have turned out had I not had a childhood watching raindrops race or watching the imaginary skateboarder grind highway rails. Our generation is responsible for making sure the next can navigate these new, infinite content waters, and also hopefully we can take some time to reflect on ourselves too. There's a lot of likeminded people to you out there, but not all of us have a platform, so thank you for using yours to discuss meaningful questions

[@athens5664]

It's so nice to hear someone more well-spoken than me articulate the difference between videos that make good background noise and those dense high-quality videos that demand your full attention without strictly ranking one above another. It's relatively recently that I realized I've vaguely made this distinction in my head ("Oh X uploaded, I can play them while doing chores" vs "I'll watch Y with dinner at the end of the day so I have nothing to distract me") and you're definitely a creator in the latter group for me. I have a lot of responsibilities nowadays, so this has been on my mind as I've been deciding piecewise what's worth my time or not. I definitely feel you on the value of setting some kind of time one's self where you're forced to be alone with your thoughts. I've been disturbed by the realization that I'm often searching for background noise for tasks that last for 10 minutes at best. I don't think searching for background noise is inherently bad, but I do think it's a problem that I reflexively avoid even short bouts of silence. It's definitely something to consider imo, especially as a parent trying to set their kid up for success.

[@EnanoPancracio]

It's more than a little callous to take a victory lap over news that a guy who claimed he was going to take his own life. Not to mention the inane reading of the situation as "one guy's definition of plagiarism" when even Somerton knew what he was doing is plagiarism considering he went to such lengths to hide it.

[@hapasiuhengalu7586]

Boy, I can’t wait for Netshaq’s hour-and-a-half long, meandering, content-forward, highly tangential video essay on the history of April Fool’s day pranks to drop later today!

[@undeniablySomeGuy]

I feel like the TomSka video was a little bit unfair. It was less of a "video essay" than a career retrospective, discussing not solely the spectrum of plagiarism but also his personal experiences with plagiarism during his time on youtube.

[@megaing1322]

Yeah, the two examples he mentioned that I know (TomSka and Tom Nicholas... Weird coincidence) are unfair and make me question his other examples and his entire argument. Yes, the conclusion taken alone is not convincing. And they are not trying to be. They are not optimized for people skipping through them. At least 3 of the other argument he mentioned for why KZbinrs hold their mic are mentioned in the video, just not in the conclusion. He seems have a very strict definition of what an essay is supposed to be in terms of qualities, and he fails to recognize that this essay by design don't follow that, and not just because they are supposed to mind numbing content.

[@GumLong]

This video is actually super well written in that you adressed most of what I would have commented towards the end and I think you're on the money, but I have some extra thoughts. I think, perhaps counterintuitively, comparing video essays to written essays isn't very productive, at least not if you expect video essays to conform to standards that are appropriate for the written medium. Even beyond video essay's appeal as a means of lengthy distraction, there are tons that I will sit down and devote my full attention to for hours, but they are presented so differently from written essays and, I think, are percieved by the viewer differently too. You have to concentrate harder to absorb the information if you're reading it, especially if the essay is well edited and dense with little repetition or needless setup (at least I do). Meanwhile, listening to someone speak is often much more pleasent and thus invites tangents that maybe aren't 100% on topic, but welcome nonetheless. Doubly so if the visuals/editing, etc. are well done. I think the video format better accomodates a sort of rambling style where you don't so much want the viewer to have a specific takeaway, but instead present what you've been researching and ruminating on the last few weeks/months. A lot of good video essays feel like a particularly well spoken and interesting friend just infodumping what they're into right now, in the best way possible. Add to that the fact that increasingly, most long-form scripted videos right now get labelled "video essays" by the audience or even KZbin, even if that's ostensibly not really the format the creator was going for. Quentin Reviews' Nickelodeon Sitcom videos consistently get called video essays, especially in conversation about how the genre has a length problem, even though he objects to this classification and I would too. Similarly with BreadTube, that's a term that has taken on a life of its own. Hbomberguy once made a joke about how he woke up and suddenly found out that there's such a thing as a BreadTube and that he's in it and that people have opinions about him and others being in it even though most of them have never self-declared as such. So right now, "video essay" includes a lot of very different approaches, among which there are a lot I wouldn't watch because they lack substance or are too meandering. Others, like "Sex and the Revolution" by the Leftist Cooks I think make perfect use of their time and talk about a lot of fascinating different but interconnected facets of how sex and attraction intersect with culture and politics in an incredibly insightful way and I wouldn't cut anything, even though it's 2,5 hours long. And there's also the economics of KZbin of course, where you ideally want to reach the widest possible audience, at least as far as your topic and style allow. So it makes sense to go back a bit and recap some information that your usual audience or whoever is likeliest to click on the video might already know, but is useful for newcomers. You joke about explaining the mechanics of Fortnite in a video about skins, but for a less famous video game, it might actually help to get a sense of what it's about before you can fully grasp what the main body of the video has to say. Even for Fortnite, what you actually do in the game is related to the psychological incentives of their skin system - see Dan Olson's essay on the topic. This also goes for the example you picked about the Big Bang Theory. The channel is called "Pop Culture Detective" for a reason, and it's not JUST about that sitcom, but wider pop culture as a whole and he brings up a variety of preceeding examples to show pervasiveness and how this archetype got started, which I found perfectly fitting. It's also a brief aside in a 20 minute video. I think your vibes-problem may go even beyond not seeing video essays as a pleasent distraction as you might have too many expectations deriving from another medium that is frankly just different. Sure, conclusions could often be better written, but not watching what came before is also highly unusual and not really a fair test. But I absolutely agree that the standards for successful video essays aren't quite always there yet and there are some very popular videos I wasn't fond of as someone who watches a lot of them.

[@emilyhines6564]

People went through this debate in the Victorian era when every novel was an 800-page 3-volume brick. Critics would bemoan the unnecessary length but people just wanted a lot of book to read

[@cupostuff9929]

this sounds interesting, where could I learn more about this phenomenon?

[@teaaddictedlosr74]

netshaq I just want to say, i LOVE the work you're doing to bring 4x3 back

[@Chirpaholic]

Excellent video. The first 20 minutes was all things I'd thought about quite a lot and had been waiting forever for someone else to mention, and the last few minutes caught me off guard in a pleasant way. I think a particularly frustrating facet of the trend as a whole is that I've seen several content creators I love shift from making succinct, well-edited, information-dense analysis into making long, rambling content recap. I suppose the tough part is that sometimes it feels like a zero-sum game that short-form and thoughtful content is losing by a wide margin, even though neither of those are the case. You've made your point in such a way that I think coming to agree with you is an inevitability, but it does feel a bit like forgiving someone who did me dirty. Thanks for the insight.

[@fieldliberty9756]

I’ve literally been avoiding this video since I found your channel and watched every video, due to the length and topic, but tonight I had a bunch of craft projects to finish before the weekend and put this on in the background and it helped me focus enough to finish a beautiful birthday gift and get started on the next item right when you got to the point that mildly interesting droning that doesn’t have engaging visuals is great for that. You’re always 💯

[@sirbbq2403]

Damn this hit deep. I'm loving this content more than your main channel lma0. But thank you for your intentional efforts on every video good sir.

[@gurjotbains]

Appreciate this video for it's ability to make me reevaluate how I interact with Channel 5's content. Why have less when you can have more does resonate, but man density is really what I think contributes to rewatchability. It's the reason why I rewatch so much of Dunkey's content years later. And man I just cannot get into video essays that are that long. Christopher Nolan's one of my favourite directors and even I put off watching Oppenheimer cause I just didn't want to sit through something so long even though the production and the manhours put into it eclipse anything on youtube.

[@cameton_youtube]

I don't disagree with your points, I do somewhat disagree with some of your examples though. I think revisiting the misogyny of the nerdy pre-2000s comedies gives useful context for understanding why the big bang theory is the way it is, and I would personally say the Tomska vid is closer to commentary. Essayists I actually like in the replies EDIT: KZbin doesn't like my recs lol. Try Folding Ideas and Jacob Geller ig

[@cameton_youtube]

Roughly in order of length of examples. All I would say are worthy of attention Particular shoutout to Jacob Geller and Folding Ideas Medlife Crisis (e.g. Can you be so fit...that you die early?) Lindsey Ellis (e.g. The Hobbit: A Long-Expected Autopsy) Shanspeare (e.g. Love is dead and other parasocial lies) Jacob Geller (e.g. Fear of Cold) Unlearning Economics (e.g. Value) F.D. Signifier (e.g. Spike Lee tried to warn us) Folding Ideas (e.g. Why it's Rude to Suck at Warcraft) We're in Hell (e.g. Medical Assistance in Dy!ng & the art of death) Soup Emporium (e.g. Chernobyl's Death Toll) Jessie Gender (e.g. The Myth of Male Socialization) Noah Caldwell Gervais (e.g. I Beat the Dark Souls Trilogy and All I made was This Lousy Video Essay)

[@Zirkelxl]

I thought the same thing about those two examples. Maybe he is simply not that interested in the topic presented in the "Adorkable Misogyny of TBBT" but the detour is 3.5 minutes of 21 minutes of runtime and sets up the history of the tropes discussed in the video quite well. I would hardly call that padding.

[@jabarbors]

Information emerges from every direction and the speed of this circulation process is accelerating. Padding is getting out of control, i feel like quality has been so de-emphasized and everyone is incentivized to consume more CONTENT

[@Infantry12345]

You continue to be my favorite video creator on this platform. Succinct but dense, easy to follow, poignant. I maybe don't relate as much to the difficulty with following vibes as you described yourself to be, but I totally get what you're talking about. I think you've articulated issues with video essays very well. I still like video essays, but I feel like I can be more discerning with which one's I pick, now. Thanks for all your hard work!

[@jhxc64]

You make a ton of good points, especially on the length. The whole "LONG VIDEO BAD" argument I feel is often misunderstood. We aren't saying videos are too long. We're just saying they USUALLY don't need to be as long as they are. That's why I tend to keep my own "video essays" short; I believe in not wasting viewer's time. Having said that, yeah. Sometimes I don't care about having my time wasted. Sometimes I wanna watch something while I eat. And I'm very clearly not the only one. There is still a huge market for hour-long essays on niche topics, and that's why so many people make them. So long as you understand that most of them are opinionated and aren't held to any kind of academic standards, I think there's really nothing wrong with video essays.

[@FrNSICs]

[deleting my draft for a video essay on the socioeconomic allegories in spongebob squarepants season 1] great vid shaq, a tip of my hat to you

[@nothonest604]

I like long form content because I have GAD, ADHD, and some other more serious issues. The 2 hour+ videos just let my brain relax for a bit while I hear someone else talk, and I can focus on something else. Its like falling asleep with the TV on. I know there are other solutions, but it feels nice to learn something and chill out. Still think turning that on to go on social media is probably not great though lol.

[@PomadaGaming]

Got this forwarded,really like how you established your standards yet checked on other possible points of view throughout the video,while keeping the topic and points of discussion rolling. Quite enjoyable,and with some stuff to learn in a way👀

[@dgager44]

I know a lot of the comments are joking around. I just want to say that this is one of the best videos on KZbin. It’s really opened my eyes to at how I consume / treat watching KZbin, as just something to throw on and distract myself and I never really put two and two together. Thank you for uploading this

[@empatheticrambo4890]

I love video essays. This was a helpful listen for me - I guess this is why I watch your Extranet stuff because I enjoy having it in the background (though yours is usually dens enough to deserve full attention)

[@PresidentFoxman]

Great points, I've noticed this problem with distraction within myself as well, however the trouble is finding something worth giving your attention to. In the past I suppose this would be what people called sacred, but today it feels like the pressure is on to chose our values out of thin air. The closest I can get to providing a definitive answer to this is that authentic experience is qualitatively better than just another KZbin short. Thanks you so much for processing this with all of us and I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on this.

[@joshb8440]

I wasn't sure how I felt about this video. I still am not and I will probably watch it again. I find your opinion on this very interesting. I clicked on this video because I was curious what it was you wanted to talk about that took more than your usually shorter. I personally don't watch video essays in the background very often as I want to be engaged with the content I watch (also I have a hard time multitasking). Honestly the only form of content I watch in a "background" sort of way is short form stuff as it is easy to consume a lot of it without consuming anything at all, just like those potato chips I know I shouldn't be eating. Staying on topic, I have watched many of the videos you gave as examples and there are a few things I want to say. For starters I find your mention of disliking distinct chapters odd. Personally I find them incredibly useful for consuming long form content as just like a book I can pause on a chapter and return to video without being incredibly lost. I also know what you mean, and convince doesn't i.ply quality. Some of the best content keeps you engaged by hiding the cuts and allowing the whole thing to flow, but I don't think all forms of content require flow such as that. On the other hand something I squarely agree with you on the degrading quality of concrete and satisfying conclusions. I also often watch the end of a video (or middle or skip through it) to see if I want to watch the whole thing and some of them just make me not care and move on. I think the reason why this is becoming the case is that some subjects would be difficult for even an expert to confidently summarize and as you pointed out many people making these essays are not experts. Also I don't think Tomska's plagiarism video was a video essay. You bring up that you feel as if you have a hard time defining what a video essay is. Like most genres I don't know if you can. Personally, I feel that genre is something found using pathos and when applying logos or ethos you may just end up making yourself confused. I have spent a long time watching people argue about the specifics of what makes a movie a horror movie or watched people say something feels Grimdark only for people to say something along the lines of "well it's not real Grimdark" as if the have a remote that will speak to them the true genre of a piece of content. Anyway, good video and thanks for all you do. I have a fire extinguisher mounted in my kitchen now because of you and have learned some fantastic cooking practices. Keep it up.

[@Cocoanutty0]

Chapters are great for keeping the brain on track and are necessary for longer content like research papers, books, speeches, etc. They are also good for different disabilities. Video essays are better for them.

[@majtravien4381]

academic essays often divide the text with headings/subheadings based on the main topic covered in a segment. it helps the reader and the writer keep track of the material and also acts as a mini-conclusion (since all the subheadings usually can be summarized in a bullet point list that's easier to remember than 15 separate 6-line paragraphs verbatim). for the life of me I do not understand the objection to chapter breakdowns in video essays when regular essays do much the same. learning environments do that and have been for ages, because we have evidence that they make learning more convenient and easier.

[@augustmericle6776]

I’ve been chronically I’ll for 3 year (finally making massive progress!) and I ended up in the position of having nearly all my time with nothing to do, and not having the physical or mental capability to feel like I could do anything but passive consumption 90% of the time. Watching “content” online went from an addicting hobby, to an addiction, where I find it difficult to even set my iPad down to take a shower. As I’ve slowly gotten better, my faculties have slowly returned, and I’ve been trying to clearly separate the “content” I consume into clear categories so I understand how I’m spending my time, whether it is enriching or consumption to pass the time, and trying to only do the latter when I’m not able to enrich my life in a better way. Being a thoughtful consumer is difficult when the products we consume seem to have almost as much power over us.

[@cleanjimmy]

Values ARE subjective. Thanks for giving me something to listen to while I cleared and stacked the dishwasher.

[@laMovidaLtd]

casually dropping one of the better essays i've seen in a bit. love it.

[@kadenmoss8904]

Shaq, I love your content so much. You are so intelligent, and I find you put words to thoughts I’ve had all the time. Incredible work, always

[@oliviaoob1426]

I'm a big fan of longform content because I've loved getting involved in something that someone was so passionate about that they wanted to pour every detail they could think of into it without worrying about runtime. But this video reminded me that length doesn't always mean best research or best quality of detail. Love the prompt for reflection at the end. Really, really useful.

[@7DegreesOfFreedom]

thanks for making this video mr. internet shaquille. i really enjoyed this longer form content to put on in the background while i did stuff

[@michellelouise1224]

This was, truly, an excellent video essay.

[@hedgehoginasunhat]

My favourite place in the world is a window seat on a long haul bus about half an hour post-departure. I have to save phone battery for the destination, so its either off or silent or occasionally used for background music, but never when it's raining, so my only company is my thoughts and the changing landscape. I love being bored, because it's now become a little occasional treat. I don't want to consume, but I'd like to observe sometimes.

[@ampersignia]

I love airplane rides for this reason. I think about life, cry, and listen to music while as much light and sound is blocked out but I can still hear the white noise of the plane. I call it mile high therapy. 😂

[@Bananna219]

My mind is too busy when it is not distracted. My ADHD and anxiety just take over. I use audiobooks and podcasts and KZbin to keep my mind focused so I can get stuff done. My shower would take twice as long without something playing. But! I still agree with your basic opinion of the average video essay. And my time is still valuable. Thanks for another great video!

[@letsgetfunky3856]

This video perfectly voiced my frustrations with youtube content lately. I was starting to feel like I was crazy because no one on the internet seemed to share this sentiment

[@KaranPolYT]

Love the way this ended! Interesting perspective on the medium but love the willingness to meet the viewer where they’re at. It recognizes every individual’s rationality

[@fennsk]

Long video essays or podcasts from a trusted creator also prevent us from A) wasting more time looking for the next cozy content to put on or B) being at the mercy of YT algorithm autoplay. When I want something interesting to listen to while doing the boring parts of my job, it's nice that it can stay on one topic while I'm filling in spreadsheets.

[@lennart2644]

I got excited at this vid's runtime because I appreciate who you are and enjoy your videos. Conversely, I came to love your videos because they were short and to the point -- funny how that works, isn't it? I totally agree about the very lackluster level of information we actually get from video essays. It's a bit like an all-you-can-eat pancake buffet. Sure, at first it sounds nice and it will keep you busy for hours but it also just has 0 nutritional value and it's just not going to blow you away. It's just always there in all its abundance. I also suspect many content creators prefer to please everyone, so their conclusions always boil down to "it depends" or "it's a little bit of everything" which just dilutes the quality of the content even further.

[@mateomoore6385]

god i love extranet shaquille

[@loadingscreens]

Extremely eloquently put and very in line with my recent thoughts & personal improvement efforts.

[@Rycovo]

Masterful, elegant and well put. You've managed to voice what I couldn't put into words for a while now.

[@thenerdlog1602]

I love how you start the video essay saying how video essays are terrible essays then take 20 minutes to give the actual thesis statement of the video: people watch video essays because they are longer. It's sort of obvious. As obvious to me as the microphone thing was to you. This made this essay a reflection of everything that you complained about. You complain about essayists going on long tangents only sort of related to the topic, then take an eighth of your video essay to talk about Logan Paul and Vice. You complain about bad conclusions and end talking about your future kids like some sort of conservative politician. 4/10 essay, 6/10 video, 10/10 video essay

[@AzuriteCoast]

This is helping contextualize some thoufhts and patterns that I was having a hard time explaining to my therapist. Thanks, NetShaq. I appreciate you keeping it real.

[@yakkocmn]

i think as a creator it's easy to fall victim to the "longer video better" mentality (as i have often found myself contemplating) because it's a win-win: youtube says "more watch time? good job!" and gives higher ad revenue so creators can keep making things, while the audience is happy to watch even more content from said creators. no other thoughts to add other than "hell yeah i agree" so just wanted to say thanks for the video, i always enjoy the level of pacing and nuance you're able to bring to the table 😎👍

[@adrianbyrne114]

i have very similar feelings about this but have never been able to put it in words as well as you have. thanks for making this. love your videos, def one of the best youtube creators.

[@zenleeparadise]

Also: your criticism of Channel 5 is fantastic. Right on the money! I never really analyzed how it changed, I just noticed that it had.

[@zoopigeon]

The Hbomb referemce is somewhat weird here. A thorough investigation of a plagiarist that was erasing the LGBT voices when he supposedly spoke for the community is, I dunno, pretty important. It didn't meet any of your initial criteria

[@lindboknifeandtool]

When hhbomb references leftists politics it alienates a majority of an audience. The plagiarism is extra bad because they’re gay is what I’m hearing. Is that right? Jo Jo siwa just did exactly that, said she invented gay pop. But she’s gay so it’s cool? I’m sorry but intersectionality is leftist in nature. He’s not trying to fix the world he’s trying to dunk on people politically. And it brings no progress. You can do that, but hold your tongue when you say you’re trying to progress society 😂 Do people just need educated more?😂 If he was like “fuck it I want to vent about leftists politics for a second” and then did NOBODY could have an issue. But he squeezes it in. Now imagine a right wing person did that. It’s annoying!

[@TheBiomedZed]

I think the point NetShaq is making is that HBomb’s audience got attached to the acute, specific scenario of plagiarism as a generalised point.

[@LenzVonKoepenick]

True, but HBomb has, to my knowledge at least, also not taken a stance against the harrassment faced by Sommerton and Iluminaughtie. And while I do think that what they did was pretty fucked (especially in Blaires case), they shouldn't have their lives ruined because of that.

[@missshai2005]

@@LenzVonKoepenick Were their lives ruined or is it just that their livelihoods were taken away as if they were fired from their jobs for being bad at their jobs?

[@zacharymcgowan6924]

The point about coming to understand why people might like the 8-hour video essay vs. your own preference something that can grab your attention is literally exactly the conversation I have had with one of my closest friends recently about our respective media consumption. Thank you, authoritative KZbin person who just popped up on my front page with no past interaction 😊

[@daveraschke]

Doesn't matter we have to make media more hostile towards the viewer.

[@accole024]

Only a couple minutes in but the aesthetic looks straight out of an early 90s after-school special.

[@devlindonnelly9729]

I watched one of your main channel videos yesterday and noticed how tightly edited down the script was. That takes discipline. It's clear you really care about making your videos only as long as they need to be. Might be one of the reasons you're so sharply critical about it when you're watching videos. I really appreciate your more pared down style, even though I also too often find myself reaching for distraction instead of insight or art.

[@Sazed0]

This video is so validating and gets at many of my criticisms of the form. I have not come around in the same way though. I think the larger issues regarding how people want to use video essays and their creators as a substitute for real knowledge and authorities is too frustrating to ignore. I do think there's also something sort of depressing about how even with KZbin being a platform with a lot of amateur content creators, the algorithm ends up prioritizing formulaic content.

[@whynotanyting]

I've watched so many hours of video essays and can't barely remember a single take. Let alone one that's useful. I'm still upset about wasting my time watching Pyrocynical's 8 hour Utopia video instead of just watching the show itself. Genuinely made me realize I have to be careful with which videos I prefer to spend my time with.

[@maxhuneeus7211]

Amazing video. I had a phase where I would consume these long form content, to the point where I instantly recognized the examples used in this vid. Whenever I see one of those videos pop up (even thought I've purged them from my feed), I completely forget what they were about, what points they made, or what value I gained from spending all those hours on this damned site.

[@simonpusateri3527]

Not sure if you’ve seen any of Tom Nicholas’s other videos, but I do think that he is someone who is generally pretty thorough and thoughtful with his essays. I haven’t seen the one you mentioned about the mics because it wasn’t a topic that interested me, but I’d recommend giving some of his other stuff a try and seeing if you feel the same way. Thanks for the video!

[@big5038]

Shaq I’m so sorry but I literally put this on as background noise while I cleaned up my kitchen and sorted leftovers away. This was the perfect length thank you ❤

[@Kyrbi0]

Another banger of a video, again perfectly calculated to strike me between the eyes. That bit at the end about raindrops was especially insightful and especially punishing. I *am* constantly seeking for distraction (though I'm at the other end of the spectrum; skimming through shorts or mainlining

[@Kyrbi0]

Sidenote, I am not sure I agree with using TomSka as an example: I will say I think the TomSka video is good not for its conclusion but for its content. I don't even care if he has a point, the video served as a tool to postulate, define & delineate a rubric for determining the various gradations on the spectrum of "plagiarism", and that's exactly what I got out of it (& love to think about). It's the way my brain works.

[@Chocolaccino]

I watched this video while doing something else, but that last sentence got to me. I watched it again with full attention and paused here and there to reflect on some of the things mentioned and how I feel about them. I got a lot more out of it that second time.

[@Eclyptical]

Great video Shaq. I've struggled with a lot of the problems you mentioned in this video, but recently I took a pretty simple step that I think made a lot of difference. I used to watch everything except for movies and TV shows at 2x speed. I had no trouble following KZbin videos, podcasts, or audiobooks at that speed, and in my mind it was better to spend 3 hours watching 20 videos than 3 hours watching 10 videos. But about a month ago I stopped doing this because I found that this mindset was spreading into other parts of my life. If I was having a conversation with someone, I would try to blow through as many topics as I could as fast as I could to make more efficient use of our time. This of course just lead to me talking extremely fast and being completely unpleasant to talk to, and hardly even listening to what the other person was saying. I saw life as a race and not as just living. I watch fewer videos now than I did before I slowed down, and I've even had to cut the channels that I subscribed to in half because it became a nightmare to sort through my subscription feed. I am more deliberate with the videos that I choose to give my time to, and in that way I am sort of automatically filtering the videos that I watch for quality, which I did not have to do when I was watching everything at 2x. Overall I do not regret making the switch at all, and I want to start taking my time in other parts of my life as well now.

[@sajanramanathan]

I'm of two minds on this subject. On the one hand I love a multi hour deep dive that's done really well, but at the same time I love a tightly edited 10 minute video essay. I think my big problem with the current landscape is that more and more people are seeing those longer video have success and think "oh long videos are super popular now, so I don't really have to worry about editing" rather than "oh this topic that I wanted to dive into has a lot more depth than I expected, so I have to make the video longer". I think that second thing results in long videos that are good, but that first thing results in what I would charitably call a meandering mess (and uncharitably call a waste of my time). Especially when it comes to new creators/creators I haven't seen yet, I think the value of editing is extremely high. I will happily watch a 20 minute video on a topic I care about from a creator I'm not too familiar with, but if a creator I never heard of drops a 7 hour video on even my favorite stuff I'll probably skip it.

[@calicotaylor7888]

I like the lines announcing the shifting of topics! It helps me pay attention more than just someone talking for an hour does. I think it’s the whole adhd bulleted list being easier to read than a paragraph with the same information. I also find the style really satisfying. And I don’t super care if the topic being brought up was particularly relevant as long as it’s interesting 🤷‍♀️

[@RealMisterDoge]

I just want to say I love the aspect ratio of this video, it fills my phone screen super well and sits in the corner very nicely when I’m using picture-in-picture mode

[@strayorion2031]

100% agree, my rule of thumb is that if the video last longer than half an hour is not worth the time, I also usually check if the video is literally just a summary of the plot, I've been fooled by a ton of videos that I think will talk about a piece of art them to just be a summary of the plot

[@stirfryjedi]

I'm glad you mentioned books. Your position about enjoying something because of its sheer size reminded me of how my friends and I in Middle School all read "The Wheel of Time" books because those were the longest ones we could find in print. Obviously it hinged on enjoying the stories, and I eventually gave up on that series when it gave me nightmares. I think a lot of other people had the same experience with the longer Harry Potter books. Even as I prepare to graduate with a B.A. in English I am only just rediscovering the joy of reading. When I binge video essays, it's been through free access to The Great Courses provided by my local library.

[@cloudyview]

I love clicking into a video I assumed was 5-15 minutes, only to find out it's an hour+ of slogging bullshirt... 🤣

[@Ftrdfji]

One of the rare vids where i never checked the run time to see how long i still had to go. Good pacing, well structured, good transitions. Grade A